Blue
by Kellatrix
Summary: MelloxNear Mello never sleeps, and Near knows this. Songfic based on Angie Heart's song.


(AN: Hello! Just wanted to make it clear that this fic is slight AUIn it, Matt supposedly left Wammy's House before L's death. So no complaining, cause I warned you!)

- - - - - - - -

_Night falls_

_I fall_

_And where were you,_

_and where were you?_

It was long past midnight... all the good little boys and girls should be asleep...

Except for Mello.

If Near didn't know better, he would guess that Mello never slept. Every night as Wammy's House fell silent, Mello glided through the front doors before they were locked and sat on the steps. Near knew this because he watched him, every night. The blonde boy would pace around the grounds, then sit down on the marble steps, broodingly. Near watched from his window. He wanted to cry out to Mello, to let him know he wasn't alone. But those were foolish thoughts. Shouldn't he, L's rightful heir, know better than to be emotional?

And still, it made Near sad to live with Mello. To not be able to help his high test scores and such while Mello cried his insecurities out in the bathrooms. Near knew that Mello would give anything to beat him, and yet, Near would do anything to make them equal. Of course, these were muses that Near absolutely had to keep to himself. He had to be stoic, the unemotional one, the intelligent one. He couldn't let his caring for Mello get in the way of... certain other things...

So Near would shut his mouth, and keep his thoughts to himself, and worried about Mello from afar. What would happen if L should die? What would Mello do if Near was appointed as the next L? He would hate Near with all his being. He already did. Whatever either of them did, Near was always number one; Mello number two.

Near crept to the window and stood on his toes to look out of it. Mello wasn't sitting in his same spot. Why? It was midnight, like all other nights... he was usually there...

Unease rising in him, Near turned from the window, tapped the lamp off, and curled up into a ball, dropping off instantly despite his worry.

_Warm skin,_

_wolf grin_

_and where were you?_

Mello was sneaking around. He had been sitting on the steps, but it was cold and he didn't have a jacket. So he moved around to circulate his blood and all that freaky medical stuff that he didn't really care about. So he paced around Wammy's House like some sort of weird raccoon. A raccoon carrying a bar of chocolate. Right.

Mello took a deep breath. It was freezing out there. He hugged himself with gloved hands and suddenly an image flashed into his head. An image of Near, holding him tight. He'd never be anything but warm again. Thinking about this made Mello's blood run cold. He wanted to cry; it would never happen. Never.

Why did he get the weird feeling he was being watched? Mello whirled around, his orange-yellow hair flying in the night wind. No one there, of course. Watari was smart enough to not let weird people on the premises. But maybe weird was relative. Maybe it was another person who lived at the orphanage who was stalking him. Good god, maybe they wanted his CHOCOLATE. That simply wouldn't do.

"Who's there?" Mello called out cautiously.

In a flash of red and black, Matt stepped out from behind the stone pillar. He was wearing black jeans and the fatally bright red and black striped shirt.

_I fell into the moon_

_and it covered you in blue_

_I fell into the moon_

_Can I make it right?_

_Can I spend the night_

_alone?_

"Matt," Mello sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I'm not allowed to visit?"

"At one in the morning?"

"Why not?" A smile.

"Near's asleep. I hope you didn't want to see him."

"No..." Matt shuffled around nervously. "But I wanted to talk about him."

Mello arched an eyebrow. "About Near? Why's that?"

"He sure does love you, Mello."

Mello burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Yeah, that's real funny Matt."

"I'm serious. Haven't you seen him around you?"

"No, and neither have you," Mello replied, still laughing.

"I did when I still lived here. Before I left. He looked at you... like... you were made of gold or something. But he also felt sorry for you... I don't know, it was weird. I know I didn't believe it at first until he told me."

"He told you? When was this?"

"That doesn't matter. Listen, Mello... when I was here, and maybe still, I don't know... we were all against each other. Right?"

"Yeah... we all wanted to be L's successor... so we were always fighting... what has that got to do with anything?"

"Mello... Near didn't hate you."

_High tide_

_inside_

_the air is dew_

_and where were you_

_while I_

_I died_

_and where were you?_

Mello froze. Did he hear correctly? "What did you say, Matt?"

"Near didn't hate you. He never did, he never will. He'll act like it to make you think he does, but he doesn't."

Mello lunged at Matt, pinning him against the wall. The chocolate bar fell, soundless, to the dewey grass. "YOU LIAR!!!"

"Why would I lie about this?"

"You and Near had a good laugh, didn't you? Oh, Mello, he's the emotional one, we should make fun of him! Well, it's not gonna work!!!" He closed his fist around Matt's neck. Matt gagged and tried to pry Mello off, when suddenly a feather-light voice sprang through the night.

"Mello, stop that!"

Mello turned to see a shock of white hair attached to the cutest body he'd ever seen. Near yawned and rubbed his eyes, a sudden gust of cold wind pushing his shirt against his abdominals and chest. Mello's heart beat faster. Why did he have to be so beautiful? Beautiful? No, he was losing his mind... and yet...

"Near..." The leather-covered blonde let go of Matt and let him stumble to the ground. Near walked forward, ever closer, and closer. Mello felt his stomach muscles tighten; he felt sick. Why? Why?

"Mello, why were you hurting Matt?" Near said in his usually nonchalant, stern voice. "Another emotional trip?"

Mello pursed his lips. "No... he said something that provoked me."

"Nothing doesn't provoke you..." Near muttered, giving Matt some help up. Matt sighed and coughed suggestively. Mello stepped on his foot.

"MELLOWANTSYOU, NEAR." Matt hacked. Mello growled under his breath. Near looked like they were speaking some other language.

Mello eventually pulled his gloves further up his wrists, picking up his abandoned chocolate bar from the grass. "I'm out. Nice to see you again, Matt, but I seriously need to get some sleep."

Suddenly, Near said, "You never sleep, Mello."

Mello stopped in his tracks. For moments, there was unbroken silence, save for the wind brushing leaves off the trees, and Matt's audible breathing.

_I crawled out of the world_

_When you said I shouldn't stay_

_I crawled out of the world_

_Can I make it right?_

_Can I spend the night_

_alone?_

_Alone?_

_Alone?_

_Alone..._

"H-h... how did you know I never sleep?" Mello asked shakily.

For the first time in Mello and Matt's time knowing Near, the white-haired boy was at a loss for words. Near always seemed to know what to say. What happened? Matt smiled and walked off behind the building and out of sight.

Near and Mello stood there and looked at each other as the first traces of sunrise appeared beyond the trees and rooftops. Black irises locked in on each other, they both moved forward slightly.

"Why... have you been watching me, Near...?" Mello murmured.

"I haven't..." answered Near, "You must be mistaken... it was... just a guess... that you never slept... a hypothesis... a theory..." He was cut off as Mello's chocolate bar fell to the ground again. The blond simply stood there with his bangs hanging in front of his eyes eerily.

Inside Mello's head, thoughts were racing. Matt was right? No, this didn't prove anything. Matt couldn't be right. Near was. It was just a theory. Anyone could have guessed that. Besides, even if he WAS being watched by Near, that didn't mean the younger was in love with him or anything like that... Did it?

Mello and Near both started to talk at once.

"You-"

"I-"

Mello stopped. "You first."

"You. I insist."

"Fine." Mello took a deep breath. "Near... you aren't like... in love with me or something, are you? Because that would be... just... I dunno..."

Near's face lit up as if someone had changed the lightbulb in his head. "How did you kno- I mean, no!!!" He quickly covered up his slip, but Mello caught it.

"...Why?"

Near sighed. "I don't know... I don't know! I just do. I've tried not to. I apologize."

Mello stepped forward, took Near's face in his hands, and kissed him deeply. Near's legs buckled beneath him, so Mello lifted the smaller boy into his arms, carrying him over to a pine tree. The blonde sat beneath the low-hanging branches, holding Near long after their lips had separated. It was freezing, and the younger was keeping the elder as warm as he could.

"Near... why me?" Mello muttered sleepily, his back against the trunk.

Near curled against Mello's chest and replied softly. "It doesn't make sense. I don't know why. It's a mystery. Far worse than the Kira case, in any event."

"Yeah, I wonder how L-san is doing on that...?"

_I fell into the moon_

_and it covered you in blue_

_I fell into the moon_

_can I make it right, can I spend the night..._

When Matt peeked around Wammy's the next day, they were in the same spot. He felt a tinge of jealousy in his heart, then left, not to see Mello again for four years.

_Alone?_


End file.
